This invention relates to the filling of a container, for the purpose of storage, with radioactive wastes, particularly, miscellaneous incombustible solid wastes, arising from atomic power plants or other establishments for handling radioactive materials.
Since in such radioactive wastes, the radioactive rays emitted therefrom exert a great influence upon living things in the natural world including humankind, the wastes need be stored until the final disposal (for example, such as dumping into the seas or burying under the ground) has been done. In this case, it involves a problem that the wastes as described above are generally so bulky that a very large storing space must be provided if the wastes are stored without modification. In order to eliminate the aforesaid problem, it has been conceived to reduce the wastes into small pieces so as to fill a container with thus reduced wastes. However, even in such a case, clearances are formed between these reduced pieces within the container, resulting in a limited reduction in the quantity capable of being filled.
The present inventor has also conceived an apparatus in which such wastes are melted in a crucible of a high frequency induction furnace or an arc furnace, the furnace body being tilted to transfer the molten wastes into a solidifying container for solidification, and the solidified wastes being transferred into a storing container for storage. However, this requires much labor during the operation.